Gandhi Jayanti special: Actors who played the legend in films

October 2 marks the birth anniversary of the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The day is a national holiday, dedicated to the preserver of non-violence during the darkest of times. Bapu' struggles to attain freedom from the shackles of the British rule inspires us even today to walk on the path of righteousness and justice. The influential figure of Indian history has often been portrayed on the silver screens. 

Today on Mahatma Gandhi's 150^th birth anniversary, here is a look at some actors who played the role of the legend in movies:

JS Cashhyap

The actor played the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1963 film, Nine Hours to Rama. The movie shows the nine hours of Nathuram Godse's life before he killed the legendary Mahatma. Horst Buchholz played the role of Nathuram Godse.

Ben Kingsley

Starring as Mahatma in the film Gandhi released in 1982, Ben portrayed his character brilliantly. 

Annu Kapoor

The movie Sardar came out in 1993 and was a depiction of the life of Gandhiji's friend, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Paresh Rawal played the role of Sardar Patel in the film along with Annu Kapoor who portrayed Gandhiji's role flawlessly. 

Rajit Kapur

Shyam Benegal directorial, The Making of the Mahatma released in the year 1996. Rajit Kumar's flawless acting as Gandhiji led him to several awards and accolades. 

Darshan Jariwala

The movie Gandhi, My Father came out in the year 2007 and had Darshan Jariwala playing the role of Gandhiji along with Akshaye Khanna who played Gandhiji's son- Harilal. The movie was produced by Anil Kapoor.

Naseeruddin Shah

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah portrayed the role of Gandhiji in the movie Hey Ram which released in the year 2000. The movie was based on India's partition and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by the Nathuram Godse.

Dilip Prabhavalkar

In Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Dilip portrayed the role of Gandhiji with brilliance. The movie came out in the year 2006 and was a hit with Sanjay Dutt retuning as our favourite doctor- Munna Bhai. 

Srikanth 

A Telugu film titled Mahatma released in 2009 and actor Srikanth donned the role of Gandhiji. The film depicted the transforming journey of a rowdy person to a man who followed the path of Gandhism.